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Social media 'has a small effect on your happiness'

Social Media logo's on a phoneImage source, bigtunaonline

A new report says that the amount of time young people spend on social media does not have a big effect on how happy they are.

The report from a team at Oxford University found that there was a slightly bigger effect on girls' happiness than boys.

Overall they found that other areas of young people's lives had a much bigger impact on happiness than time on social media.

Staying safe online

The report said that parents should stop worrying about the amount of time young people spend on social media and instead talk to them about their experiences.

The researchers say having good communication with adults and friends in real life was really important.

Good communication means young people have someone to talk to when things go wrong in real life or online.

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Over the last few years there has been a lot of chat about social media, with some saying it affects young people's mental health.

Other people say it can help people find friends and support when they need it.